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Squier Debut Series...$126!

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Given my experience with Glarry, I'd hope and pray that the Squier is better quality. But won't hold my breath. I would love to snag one just to see, though.
I've bought 2 Glarry's and have been pretty blown away by the build quality. Some sharp frets and uninspiring hardware, but perfectly acceptable beginner basses and great mod platforms. I'm just one sample out of thousands, though, and I'm sure lots of people have goten crap from them. That said, they're cheap as heck, so it's really not a gamble.
 
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I've bought 2 Glarry's and have been pretty blown away by the build quality. Some sharp frets and uninspiring hardware, but perfectly acceptable beginner basses and great mod platforms. I'm just one sample out of thousands, though, and I'm sure lots of people have goten crap from them. That said, they're cheap as heck, so it's really not a gamble.

Yeah, the one I got was utter crap. Fortunately, I had purchased it as a mod platform. The bridge was mounted crooked on mine, and the pickup was shifted to the point where the E-string was less than half the volume of the other three strings. The input jack fell into the cavity because the nut wasn't tightened down properly and BOTH strap locks pulled out immediately with a strap on it (luckily I caught it!). Most of the pickguard screws were completely stripped as well and when I went to fix the output jack issue, I was able to use a magnet to just pull them out. It was pretty bad. They ended up giving me a $15 partial refund.
 
For the amount you’ll spend on mods, just save a little longer and buy a better bass.
Why? If someone’s primary intention is to swap out all the hardware, why spend more for parts that are just going to get trashed? If the wood chassis is good enough, I see no point in buying something more expensive unless there’s a specific design element you can’t get for less money.
 
Why? If someone’s primary intention is to swap out all the hardware, why spend more for parts that are just going to get trashed? If the wood chassis is good enough, I see no point in buying something more expensive unless there’s a specific design element you can’t get for less money.

To be fair, what Lava is stating is usually deemed common sense-however, some affordable models are really good and worth it enough to make it your own through upgrades/sidegrades that you may prefer.

Of these $119.99 Debut Series models (right now, only guitars, 3 colors @amazon as of 04/12/2024), I am not wowed by the offerings, so I would pay slightly more for something I really like. But I agree with you, as I have done upgrades to a cheap Sonic series bass and am more than happy with it (definitely have spent more in extras over its original price, but then there is no other bass like that in the market for the combined cost of everything put together.)
 
Why? If someone’s primary intention is to swap out all the hardware, why spend more for parts that are just going to get trashed? If the wood chassis is good enough, I see no point in buying something more expensive unless there’s a specific design element you can’t get for less money.
I'm in your camp, but it depends on the sort of guy you are.

I like to tinker with stuff for its own sake, I'm never happy with the thing as-is, and I enjoy the learning and doing process and hoard parts like it's going out of style.

Not everybody is like that, and for a lot of those folks they really are just better off getting a better bass to begin with and if they don't want to hunt for a deal for everything they'd have saved money, normally.
 
I scrolled through the Amazon ad…3 free months of Fender play are included, which is a subscription based music lesson app. They are “giving away” instruments trying to increase traffic on their lesson app. Might work out for them. Me? No thanks.
 
For the amount you’ll spend on mods, just save a little longer and buy a better bass.

I generally agree with this. With the money people seem to spend on modding their Sonic P-basses (which look very similar to these Debut series) you could buy a Squier CV, which IMO doesn't really need any mods. You might even get a Yamaha BB434, which is a FAR superior instrument.

However, if you want a cheap P-bass with a slim J-bass neck there aren't really any other other options. At least nothing that looks like a Fender and isn't a PJ. I guess it makes sense to mod a Sonic (or Debut) P-bass if that's what you need AND the bass itself is decent quality.

The problem is, the Sonic P-basses I've played haven't exactly impressed me. Admittedly I've only played two Sonic P-basses (in a store, with a less than ideal setup) so I won't rule out the possibility that there are some better ones out there. But to me they felt cheap, particularly the necks, which is THE most critical part on a bass IMO.

If you don't absolutely need a P-bass with a slim J-bass neck there are better options IMO, even in the same price range (like the Harley Benton PJ-74).

But modding can be fun of course, so there's that.:)